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Obituary: Jan Pokorny, 1915-2008

Published by info on Fri, 2008-05-23 16:08

Jan Hird Pokorny, passed away on May 20, 2008. He was 93. Born in Czechoslovakia, he immigrated to the United States in 1939, where he studied architecture at Columbia University. With his firm Jan Pokorny Architects, based in New York, he was known for his contribution to historic preservation though both his work adapting and restoring historic buildings and as an educator. Among other contributions to the field, Pokorny was also a member of the New York City Landmarks Commission where he was “known among architects as a reasoned voice in the melding of old and new architectural ideas.” He was described by John Belle, of Beyer, Blinder Belle, as “one of the last of a breed of architects whose work was shaped by a social conscience as well as a design philosophy...He was a forerunner in legitimizing the role of an architect as an adapter.”